


Winterberries

by Nightwood



Category: Nightwood
Genre: Fantasy, M/M, Mild Censored Language, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-23
Updated: 2014-03-23
Packaged: 2018-01-16 18:54:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1358227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightwood/pseuds/Nightwood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>...Wil'em's mood was uncommonly light today. Coming from the elf who thought dropping on you from treetops was amusing, this lightened mood set the travel party on edge. What could they do? A smile is not a crime... </em>
</p><p>What is that kooky elf up to?</p><p>Setting: Middle Earth</p>
            </blockquote>





	Winterberries

Wil'em's mood was uncommonly light today. Coming from the elf who thought dropping on you from treetops was amusing, this lightened mood set the travel party on edge. What could they do? A smile is not a crime...  
  
The group came to a fork in the forest path around midday. One path followed a quaint little stream while the other led up the hillside. On the pretense of covering more ground, the party separated from Wil'em to climb the hill, leaving Daniel to deal with the off-putting elf.  
  
Oh goody.  
  
Daniel cautiously followed behind the burgundy haired elf on foot, leading his chestnut horse by the reins and taking comfort in the large beast's presence. He watched the movements of the slender male, idly following the graceful curve of Wil'em's back with his bi-colored gaze as they progressed through the humid forest.  
  
Soon, Wil'em began to sing. Daniel looked away from the elf's form to try to focus his mind on other things, anything at all that would distract him from the suspicious mood of the green-eyed mischief maker before him. He focused on the leaves, gauging the progression of the winter frost's gradual spread over the surface of the trees. He focused on the frozen stream, searching its shallow depths for smooth stones that he might throw at Wil'em's head to drop that creepy mood down a few levels. He focused on the silence, savoring the- wait, why had the singing stopped?  
  
Daniel looked ahead of him and sucked in a panicked intake of breath, trying his best to internalize his heart attack for the sake of not spooking his horse. Wil'em's appaloosa was still there, obediently clopping down the lightly worn stream-side path. But the elf? Gone, the reins swinging where his hand should have been, as though silently jeering at Daniel's plight which the elf's absence entailed.  
  
"Daniel."  
  
"F**K." Daniel jumped upon hearing the familiar voice so close to his ear. He was not proud of the way he whipped away from the startling noise to cling to the neck of his confused horse, but hey. You can't have a lion heart when it comes to Wil'em. It just isn't smart.  
  
Wil'em's hair was beginning to fall out of his braid, as though he'd just been sprinting or whatever other things this guy did to get the burgundy wisps to misbehave. That d***ed _smile_ was still on his angular face and his hands were cupped and stained purple from what they held in their palms.  
  
"Winterberries," Wil'em explained with a gentle sort of joy lining his voice. "For you. Why are you so tense? Won't you take them?"  
  
Daniel's first impulse was to say NO, he would NOT take Wil'em's stupid berries because the last time he'd accepted random forest food from the smaller male, it had turned out to be some twisted solitary experiment in the effects of hallucinogenic mushrooms on humans. Thanks to that d***ed elf, Daniel has SEEN THINGS. :c  
  
But it was that cursed smile that made Daniel comply. It compelled him to not question the berries or anything else.  
  
"...Thanks..."  
  
Turns out, they were quite alright after all. And quite delicious. By the time the party had regrouped at sunset, Daniel still had not turned into a toad or anything, to his great relief. A few questioning glances were cast at the purple stains on Daniel's and Wil'em's fingers, but no one brought it up when there were more important things to discuss... like who takes first watch tonight. With a few roundabout phrases, poor Daniel was coerced into the job via elven rhetoric for the fifth time that week. He didn't even know what hit him until he was watching them all sleep without him.  
  
Daniel's focus shifted from the fire to the stars and back again as the hours slid slowly by. At one point he held up his hands, touching his tongue to his fingers to discover that the taste of the winterberries still lingered on his skin. As he ran his tongue over a tasty patch of purple, he idly wondered where Wil'em had found such vividly flavored berries...  
  
"Daniel."  
  
"FFFF... uuuuuuuu...!" Daniel's stifled expletive came out as a long, hushed groan of hysterics. "Can't you make a little noise if you're going to pop up behind me, elf??"  
  
"But I did. I tripped."  
  
"Bull."  
  
"What are you doing to your hands?"  
  
Daniel looked down at his moist finger and shrugged, wiping it on his pants with a sigh. "They still taste like berries."  
  
Wil'em gave his thin thumb an experimental lick in response and nodded his head. "So they do."  
  
"Why did you give those to me anyway?"  
  
"It was a gift. Is that not what is customary?"  
  
"Um?" Daniel frowned, somewhat confused. "In what context?"  
  
"Human context. Did I do it wrong? I do not know much about Valentine's Day."  
  
An expression of sudden understanding overtook the strong features of Daniel's face. "Ohhh... I didn't even realize that was today."  
  
"For shame," Wil'em voiced with a frown as he settled down into a sitting position next to Daniel.  
  
"Er, sorry, I don't really do holidays," Daniel mumbled with another shrug. He gave a sigh, idly watching his breath turn to mist in the cold climate as the two fell into a momentary silence. "Thank you though," he added with a soft smile. "They tasted pretty good."  
  
"Mmhm. Do you still taste of winterberry _there_ as well?" the elf inquired, pointing up at Daniel's lips.  
  
Daniel took the hint with a gentle chuckle and wrapped an arm around Wil'em's waist, pulling him close and pressing their lips together.  
  
"Happy Valentine's Day, you crazy elf."


End file.
